Combination seat-cabinet and table



Dec. 24', 1935. 2,025,393 COMBINATION SEAT cABmi ANDHTABLE Filed July 21, 1934 I INVENTORV Julius Kupfer ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 24, 1935 PATENT OFFICE I .l'comnms'rlois SEAT-CABINET AND TABLE Julius Kupfer, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application Julyitl, 1934, Serial No. 736,285

2Claims. (01. 155-123) This invention relates to a combination seatcahinet and table, particularly of the type adapted for use'in association with the seating structure of an automobile. I

It is quite a common practlcefor automobile passengers to take along with them, on a mo, tor trip, various items of food and other articles, and these are generally wra'pped'i pack ages and deposited on the seat ortlu'ellruir of the car. This is not only inconvenient in that these packages are space-consuming, and "are an impediment to the comfort, of the passengers seated in the car, but there is always the danger of such articles being subiect to damage or in- .iuryimless held by one ofthe passengers. It is hence one of the objects of my invention to en-' ablearticles of this class to be securely and immovably held in place by depositing them,

in a preferred form of this invention, within the back-rest portion of the front seat and in such amanner as to renderthem readily accessible for use,-and'yet not an obstruction to or in any way interfering with the comfort 'of the passengers seated in the'rear' of the ear. And it is still another object of my invention tapermit its use withoutiin any way affecting the spring cushioning means generally employed within'the back rest of the'front seat'of the Passengers also frequently desire to have the use of a table within the car, either for thejpurpose of serving of food, playing cards, etc. It is with the further of providing such a need that I have conceived-this invention," an object which I accomplish by employing a 'table which normally,in its'inoperative position, forms a part of the cabinet casingcontained in the front seat in 'which the said articles are stored, and which can readily and easily be swung into its horizontal operative position, the entire struc ture being of simple and inexpensive design.

Other objects, features and advantages will.

appear from the drawing and the description hereinafter given.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 illustrates'the interior of a car provided with my invention, and showing, in dotted lines, certain articles storedwithin the cabinet in its closed position.

Figure 2 is a perspective of the hack-rest of the front seat, showing the cabinet open and the table in its operative position.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross section of. the device constituting my invention, illustratingthe inner shelf in its raised posit on to permit the withdrawal of articles contained within thecabiq net, and further showing the table in its open position.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of Figure 3 taken along line 4-, part of the inner shelf being broken away'to show the contents therebeneath. v

Figure 5 is a .fragmentaryvertical section of a modification of my invention, showing a thermos bottle with a bead thereon supported by a fixed shelf.

Figure 6 illustrates another modification of I my invention showing how the, table in its horizontal position is supported by an open door. therebelow. I 1 In the drawing, the back-rest portion III of the front seat contains therein a cabinet formed by the concave wall ll joining the lower wall II at the rear ofthe frontseat, and the table II which in its closed position formsa closure for said cabinet. The saidtable is supported pref-. erably by flexible straps ll which fold .inwardly upon an upward swinging and closing of the said table, or what may also be termed the door, I3. Instead of the straps ll, hingedmeans may be employed with similar efl'ect. f

Within the cabinet is the inner shelf l5 hinged to the wall I2 and swingable in a vertical direction, its lowermost horizontal position being fixed by the two brackets l6 upon which the said inner shelf -is adapted to rest. The

Containedwithin the lower portion or bottom compartment of the cabinet is the fixed shelf I! which contains suitable apertures therein for the insertion of various articles, such as the ther-" mos bottle l8 and the two articles l9 and 2 0, or other variously shaped and sized itemss-the roof of said compartment being the shelf l5 when in its horizontalposition. In this arrangement it will be noticed that these articles are adaptto rest upon the floor of the car and are held against lateral movement by the walls of the said apertures.

The saidconcave wall ll extends upwardly and slopes rearwardly from the bottom'of the front' seat, thereby permitting the central portion of the back-rest ill to contain the springs II, 22 and 23 therein.

In the operation of this device, the table II is opened bylswinging it downwardly, the inner shelf I 5 is swung upwardly and the contents II, I! and 20 are inserted in place. The bottom compartment of the cabinet is closed by swinging sheli. is to sheli l1,- containing apertures to. accommodate predetermined the said inner sheli ll downwardly until it rests upon the brackets l8, and the table or door I! swung upwardly to close the entire cabinet. The

arrangement is such that theftable it, whenbrought into its vertical position and detachably locked in place by thespring latch "a. is substantlally flush with the rear wall oi the backrest,-there being no protruding elements whatsoever to inconvenience the passengers seated in the rear oi the car. This device can be so dimensioned that suiiicient space will be available ior the housing oi the articles desired to be stored within the cabinet. storage portion oi the cabinet is at the bottom oi the back-rest ill. it is'ieasible to permit the. wall H to sloperearwardly, the reduced space in the upper portion oi the cabinet being suiilcient to permit a withdrawal oi the contents: thereirom. The sloping arrangement oi the wall ll permits the use oi springs 2i; "and is. he'reinabove stated, thereby enabling this device to function withoutaiiecting the usual spring cushioning means employed 'in a iront automo blleseat.

Should it be desired to use the table II ior serv ing iood thereon or in other purposes, this table is moved downwardly into its horizontal operative position as shown in Figures 2 and 3. the.

arrangement being such as to' permit convenient access thereto by passengers seated in the rear oi the car. It will be noticed that the inner sheli ilis level with the table II thereby providing greater table area byutilizing a portion oi the interior oi the cabinet. I

Inthe modification shown in Figure 5, the fixed shaped and sized articles but instead oi permitting these. articles to rest upon theiioor oi the car. theapertures in the sheli are so proportioned u, to permit a protruding element oi a stored article, such as the bead 2| oifthe thermos bottle,

to rest upon the said partition 24.

Another modification is illustrated in Figure 6 whichshows a bottom door 28 swung outwardly. and in such poution serving as a s p rt ior the table 21 in its horlzontalposltion/ This arrange:

'ment enables the articles desiredto be stored in the cabinet to be inserted through the doorway rather than through the upper'portion oi the cabinet as is required in the above-described preq ierred iorm oi my invention. With the use oi the door I as the table supporting means. there is no necessity oi employing straps ll or other hinged devices irom whiclnthe table may be'suspended. The table 21 is held detachably locked in its vertical position by the spring latch 21a.

Inasmuch 'as'the' This invention is not limited to the specific iorms herein described, as other modifications thereoi can be employed and changes eiiected within the scope oi the appended claims.

whatlclaimiszr 6 i. In combination with an automobile seat, a cabinet within the uprllht back-rest portion oi the seat, the iront walloi theback reatbeing ganeraliy vertical. the iorward wallei the'u'pper portion oi the cabinet beingooncave and 51 F 8,

rearwardiyiromtheleveloitheseattoiorman upwardly expanding space therebetween and the irontwalloithebackrestapluralityoispringswithinsaid space and in abutting relatioi-lship 'withtheiorwardwall oithecabinetandthe" iront wall oi the back t. a compartment at the bottom'oi said cabinet for thestorage oiarticles therein, the rear wall oithe cabinet containingan opening therein, atablepivotally supported on the rear wall oi the cabinetfand' being cotand pivotally. attached to the iront wall'oi the cabinet and swinsably va l -in a' vertical direetiongmeans ior detachably holding the table in its vertical position, and means ior supporting said table and said aheli in their lilol'l-v nontal positions, the tablefand our in their. use

horizontal poa'itions'bein'g inth sameplana' l 4 v 2. I n combination'with minimalism. 1 cabinet within the upright back-rest portion oi.

.. the seat,'theiorward wall oi the upper portion,

'oi thecabinet aloping level v oi the seat to iorm an upwardly expanding space therebetween and the iront oi the back-rest. yieldable cushioning means within and in operativeengageinent with the aaidiront wall 9 oi the back-rest, aoomp'artmsnt atwthe bottom a oi ma cabinet in: the, 'storagez oi utlcluth r in, the rear wall oi the an opening therein. a table the rearwall'oi the cabinetandbeing Mafia-H movable rearwardly .into a horizontal. position and iorwa'rdly into a vertical position easiest said cabinet to iorm a closure over' id opening, it sheli constituting therooi oi the said compartment andpivotally attached'to merremnn the cabinet and swingably v-movabie in a vertical direction. icrdetacbably holding the table in its vertical position. madman for maportina a 'said table andsaidsheliintheirhorisontaipositions. the table and sheii in their said horizontal? vpositionsbeinglllliatantil-lliillthesameplane. mama-an.

ymovable rearwardlyintoa horlsontalv, position and iorwa'rdly into a vertical position against said cabinet to iorm a'closure over said openingmsheiiconstitutingtherooioithesald 

